Twins 10, Mariners 3: Ober Turns it Around Into Minnesota Slugfest

Box Score
SP: Bailey Ober 6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
Home Runs: Alex Kirilloff (6), Edouard Julien (8), Kyle Farmer (6), Carlos Correa (12)
Top 3 WPA: Alex Kirilloff .275, Willi Castro .255, Edouard Julien .109

Mike Muchlinski was behind the plate calling balls and strikes tonight, and it appears his vision had not improved after his foul ball call last evening. He rung Edouard Julien up on ball four before being uncertain about the correct calls against Alex Kirilloff. Even still, Minnesota put runners on second and third with only one out. Max Kepler's sacrifice fly to left field scored Carlos Correa and put Minnesota on the board first.

The Twins added more in the first opportunity tonight than last evening. Willi Castro drove an 0-2 pitch to center, allowing Kirilloff to come home. Matt Wallner read the throw well and advanced to third on the play. Muchlinski made his mark again when he punched out Kyle Farmer on a ball to end the frame.

Despite making Mariners starter Bryan Woo work, Bailey Ober gave up a single to J.P. Crawford before Eugenio Suarez sent a ball into the seats and evened things for Seattle in the bottom half. Ober continued to be hit hard throughout the frame, and a double from Ty France scored Jarred Kelenic. Teoscar Hernandez did give Minnesota a break running through the stop sign and being cut down at the plate. Mike Ford's single in the next at-bat threatened another run, but Manny Acta erroneously sent France, and Kepler's throw nailed him this time. The 35-minute first inning came to an end.

Starting the third inning with a ripped single right back up the box, Julien gave the Twins a baserunner. Wanting to partake in the Tuesday festivities, Kirilloff then blasted an oppo taco over the left field wall. Minnesota was back on top 4-3 and could look to add more.

With Kepler and Castro on the corners, the Twins' stolen base leader went for second base, and Cal Raleigh's throw tailed into centerfield. Kepler could quickly scamper home on the play, and they had now put up five runs through the first three innings of the night.

Getting the fourth inning going nicely, Julien turned on an inside pitch and deposited it into the right field seats. Kirilloff again followed with a hit of his own, grabbing a triple. He found himself just a double and a single away from the cycle less than halfway through the contest. Kepler made sure the final 90 feet were taken care of when he doubled for the seventh time this season to make it a 7-3 lead.

After being hit around in the first inning, Ober was on cruise control through the fifth. He continued to pound the strike zone and was retiring Mariners batters in succession. The resolve continued to be extremely impressive, given how his night started.

Minnesota threatened again in the sixth inning with runners on second and third, and Castro came through with a single to score Julien. Kepler didn't see the send from Tommy Watkins, but the Twins found themselves with an 8-3 lead. Joey Gallo couldn't come through with the bases loaded to do even more damage, or the inning would have gone sideways for Seattle.

Despite giving up three runs in the first inning, and seven hits the first time through the order, he didn't give up either since. Working through the sixth inning on just 90 pitches, Rocco Baldelli got a great outing from his starter. With Minnesota pitching scuffling a bit since the All-Star Break and this one looking ugly right away, the turnaround was encouraging to see.

Of course, the Twins have been jobbed at times by replay this year, but in the seventh inning Major League Baseball fell flat on its face again. Correa had an infield single taken away when the Mariners were awarded an out despite first baseman France never making a tag. It's been disappointing to see the replay process so poorly instituted at times this season. Finding unrelated third parties to make decisions could be a worthwhile change.

Singling to lead off the eighth inning, Kirilloff was just a double shy of the cycle. While it seemed unlikely that he would get a fifth at-bat, just having a night like this has to feel good as he continues to put the wrist injury in his rearview mirror. Jordan Balazovic and Emilio Pagan pitched scoreless innings of relief to set up the ninth, but Minnesota wanted to make history first. After Farmer went way out for the sixth time this season, Correa turned on a pitch and sent his 12th homer into the seats. They scored double-digit runs and became the 12th team across Major League Baseball to do so on the evening. Michael A. Taylor did swing at ball four twice, leaving Kirilloff's cycle chances in the on-deck circle, but the good guys had done plenty of damage.

Cole Sands emerged from the shadows to work the ninth inning. Despite not having pitched in what feels like decades, he was sharp, retiring the Mariners in just four batters. The Twins took care of business against Seattle this evening to secure at least a series split. They'll face a tall task against dominant arm Luis Castillo tomorrow night. Cleveland did take their game with the Pittsburgh Pirates today so no change will be felt in the AL Central standings.

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Notes
Sonny Gray reached ten years of Major League service time today, and the Twins hooked him up with a fantastic gift.

Carlos Correa continued to hit well out of the leadoff spot and extended his on-base streak to 15 games with a first-inning single.

The Twins scored at least five runs for the fifth straight game. It was the second time they had done so all season and the first since April 28.

The Twins helped see the second-most teams across MLB accomplish that feat by scoring ten runs tonight. The stat dates back to the late 1800's per Sarah Langs.

What’s Next? 
With just two games left for the Twins against the Mariners in this series, both of those two tilts will feature the best Seattle pitchers Minnesota has seen. Continuing to roll on with a 13-game-in-13-day stretch, Rocco Baldelli’s club returns home on Friday against the Chicago White Sox. 

Wednesday 7/19 Kenta Maeda vs Luis Castillo (8:40pm)
Thursday 7/20 Pablo Lopez vs George Kirby (2:40pm)

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet